This week, 2020-2021 Tony Blankley Fellow Patrice Onwuka testified before the Committee on Oversight and Reform on “Equal Pay Day.” She opened by speaking on how her work at Independent Women’s Forum focuses specifically on expanding opportunities for women.
Equal Pay Day was started in effort to create awareness about the gender pay gap. With two pieces of legislation related to the issue on the table, it was fairly publicized this year. During the three hour event, women from a variety of organizations and committees spoke and were able to answer questions in a follow-up Q&A.
In her testimony, Patrice addressed questions and concerns related to the Equal Rights Amendment and Paycheck Fairness Act. Two of the main points she discussed:
- The pay gap is largely due to the choices women make.
- Pay discrimination has already been illegal for 60 years
“A one-size fits all government policy that may be well-intentioned would rob women of the ability to choose for themselves the best work arrangements that fit their individual, unique circumstances,” she said at the closing of her opening statement.
You can watch that opening statement at around 28:27 in the video below. Patrice appears twice more during the hearing, at 1:20 and 2:20: